Calcium
In addition to the creamy goodness of cheese, dairy contains a little mineral known as Calcium. Ninty-nine percent of calcium is stored in your bones and teeth, but what about that other little 1%? Calcium, has other jobs in addition to maintaining bones and teeth; it assists with the dilation and constriction of your blood vessels, muscle function, nerve transmission, intracellular signaling and hormone secretion. Long story short that missing 1% is “free floating” in your blood, muscles and intracellular fluid.
But what does that look like over time?
Lifespan Calcium Recommendations
If 99% of calcium is stored in your bones and teeth, think of how your body transforms from infancy to joining ranks with those over 70. If you had to guess, would you think a baby who is growing at a rapid rate would need exponentially more calcium than the average adult?
Well in comparison to size, no. Unless those babies are premature, on TPN with crazy lab values, they will get the calcium they need from either mother’s milk or formula feedings. Their little bodies require 200 mg of calcium from birth to 6 months then as they grow so their calcium needs.
What does 200 mg of calcium equate to in food form? When translating food into mineral equivalencies, amounts will vary depending the different foods and nutrient you are trying to assess. For 200 mg of calcium this could look slightly less than ¾ cup of plain yogurt has ~311 mg of calcium or 1.5 ounces of cheese has 307 mg.
For those of you reading this, you most likely not infants, unless you are a super baby and can read, so your calcium recommendations will be higher. Thanks to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), your calcium recommendations are in the table below in accordance to your age. When looking at the table see if you can spot anything interesting.
| Age | Females & Males | Pregnancy/Lactating |
| 0-6 months | 200 mg | |
| 7-12 months | 260 mg | |
| 1-3 years | 700 mg | |
| 4-8 years | 1,000 mg | |
| 9-18 years | 1,300 mg | 1,300 mg |
| 19-50 years | 1,000 mg | 1,000 mg |
| 51-70 years | 1,200/1,000 mg |
Calcium recommendations gradually increase throughout life, males and females requiring the same amount. I find that slightly odd for females especially when they are growing or feeding a baby. During the time a mother is pregnant or lactating, the mother’s calcium requirements do not change according to the NIH. I find this interesting because pregnant moms still need calcium and these little humans going inside them also need calcium. Then when the little human is earth side feeding off mom, wouldn’t you think she would need more still? Isn’t the human body incredible!
In fact the recommendations have no disparities until females are at least 50 (years old) or above. This being the time when the female sex hormone, estrogen, decreases and menopause starts to set in. One big concern here is bone density, yes.. back to that, bones are important. Without them you would be a pile of muscle on the ground. By age 30 our bones have hit peak density. This is between the 19-50 age frame on the chart, your calcium recommendations do not change, just the magic year your body decides it has hit its peak. Then you have a little bit of a plateau for roughly 20 years, then as hormones are altered and bones are at stake the requirements for calcium increase in females by 200 mg…. back to the beginning this is roughly the addition of 1.5 ounces of cheese or ¾ cup of yogurt added to your daily intake.
What does estrogen do?
The body uses estrogen to build strong bones this is called osteoblasts (cells that help with bone formation…. think of Bob the Builder, building bones not houses in this scenario). Which is why when a female hits menopause her estrogen levels decrease and so does their absorption and utilization of calcium. As we age so does, Bob he gets older and slower, maybe about to retire.
But hey, since we are on the topic of females, calcium and bones…. Lets briefly switch gears and tie this in with the athletic population, specifically the female athlete triad, never heard of her.. well you are about to!
Female Athlete Triad
The female athlete triad occurs when a combination of disordered eating, amenorrhea, and osteoporosis (low bone density) are present at the same time.
The average age for a female to start menstruating is 12 years old, starting as early as age 10. If a female has an absence of menses, whether that be the initial cycle (between the ages of 10-15 years) or has had consecutive missed cycles this can identify as amenorrhea. Amenorrhea occurs when there is a reduction of estrogen in the body which then prevents the body from releasing an egg. This is because the body knows it is in a caloric deficit and knows, because again, your body is really smart, that it cannot sustain or grow a baby at this time.
Then as stated above, if the body is not producing estrogen the body is not as efficient in building strong bones, this is where Bob the Builder or those osteoblasts are on vacation because there is no estrogen to give them a purpose. When the body has adequate estrogen in the body is able to absorb calcium and use that to build strong bones and prevent injuries. However, in the absence of estrogen the body will excrete more calcium than not. Then over time the lack of hormones to uptake calcium, leads to osteoporosis or low bone density at a young age.
For example, think of endurance runners, weight specific athletes, or any other female athlete who is participating in vigorous activity, who has not entered or has had a delayed menstrual cycle due to a caloric deficit. At whatever age they are at they are limiting their body’s ability to build, maintain or prevent injury as if there were eating enough to sustain a normal menstrual cycle (one cycle every month).
There are a few causes of amenorrhea but the one we will be talking about for the Female Athlete Triad is the caloric deficit one puts themselves in by expending more calories than what they are consuming over an extended period of time. A calorie deficit can be identified by the lack of menses (without the help of contraceptives), weight loss, dieting, fatigue, lanugo (fine hairs on the body), brittle and thinning hair, etc., the list can go on. If you want more signs you can visit NationalEatingDisorders.org for additional examples. Calories and food do not have to be scary, there is a healthy balance in what you eat and when you eat. Eating enough food to sustain a healthy body fat percentage, weight, and menses is a decent indicator of nutritional status.
Real Life Scenario: In working with female athletes and endurance athletes, it was not uncommon for them to think it was normal if they missed their menstrual cycle. In fact, most of them thought it was normal because many of their teammates had no had theirs for a while. Now.. speaking from personal experience no one loves that time of the month, but we know it is good for us… kinda like broccoli. Being a college athletes is not without its challenges, especially when it comes to finding time to eat, between practice, class, lift, homework, work, being a young adult figuring out life, so on, therefore eating is usually overlooked.
I cannot tell you the number of times I have had an athlete tell me they had lunch. Then when asked, they usually said “some bars” meaning a Nutri-grain bar or Chewy bar. Friends, I am going to tell you right now, bars ARE NOT MEALS! Bars are meant to supplement your three meals a day to give additional energy for those additional workouts.
Overall, to summarize a very complex condition such as the Female Athlete Triad, is a combination of a low calorie intake or disordered eating that can lead to amenorrhea which then can be a result of low bone density.
So not going to lie, I kind of went down a rabbit hole and started rambling, but I hope you learned something from this post. Long story short, make sure you are getting enough calcium whether you are male, female, pregnant or not, and feeding those small humans who are continually growing.
I may emphasize cheese, because it is my favorite.. but there are other foods that also contain calcium such as cabbage, kale, broccoli, fortified grains, some fruit juices, and tofu. The bioavailability of calcium from greens is poor, which is why it why sources will encourage dairy or fortified items.
Fact: Calcium is the most abundant mineral found in your body.
Due to my love of food and especially cheese, I am a firm believer that cheese, great addition to add calcium in your diet. If you happen to be lactose intolerant, there is this wonderful enzyme called lactase you can take before eating cheese so you can enjoy it too!
Supplementing:
If you are not wanting to walk the line with dairy, lactase and find yourself needing to supplement, you have two main options of calcium supplements.
Calcium Citrate & Calcium Carbonate
Calcium Citrate: can be taken with or without food and is usually easier for those with irritable bowel disease or absorption disorders to absorb
Calcium Carbonate: more commonly available, inexpensive, and best absorbed when taken with food (needs the assistance of stomach acid to breakdown the carbonate).
When supplementing your body can absorb and utilize 500 mg of calcium at once. So if by chance you choose a supplement that offers 1,000 mg of calcium for a daily dose try splitting up the dose and have 500 mg in the morning and 500 mg in the evening if able. If the supplement you choose has multiple pills for a daily dose take a peek at the label to determine how many pills equal one dose and divide that by the amount of pills it says to take.
I recently found myself in the aisle of Natural Grocers and got myself a calcium supplement to help with my calcium intake and recovery from a recent casualty. There are tons of different variations out there making it difficult to choose what is “best” for you, so I personally got a Calcium with Magnesium and Vitamin D3 supplement from a company called Rainbow Light (and no I am not endorsed by this product). Both Vitamin D and Magnesium assist with the absorption and utilization of calcium to promote.
*If by chance you are on any other medications check with your pharmacist or dietitian to determine if you are at risk for any nutrient interactions that may decrease the absorption or utilization of your medications.
Questions, comments or concerns feel free to leave them in the comments below!!
XO,
Sami
Cinnamon, Apple & Cheddar Cheese Plate
Equipment
- Some sort of board
- Knife, to cut cheese and apple
- Cutting board
Ingredients
- 2 each Apples (sliced)
- 4 ounces Cheddar Cheese (sliced)
- 4 tbsp Walnuts
- 12 each Whole Grain Crackers
- Pinch Cinnamon (sprinkled over cheese and apple)
Instructions
- Slice apple and cheese prior to putting on chosen board. Then place on "chosen board."
- Add walnuts and crackers to board.
- Sprinkle with cinnamon.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Ingredients: 1 Egg White, whisked, in one bowl Equal parts of cinnamon and sugar, in separate bowl
Directions: Whisking egg white till frothy, toss walnuts in egg white, toss until the walnuts are completed coated in egg white. Then toss walnuts in cinnamon and sugar, coating completely. Place on baking sheet with a thin layer and bake till crispy at 350 degrees, for roughly 10 minutes. If not crunchy, out back in oven for an additional 2 minutes, until crunchy. Nummmm!!
